Non-refillable bottle



(N0 Modelx H L B LEE NON-RBPILLABLE BOTTLE.

Patented Apr. 27, 1897.

ATTORNEYS.

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HARRY Ii. BEEKMAN LEE, OF ALBANY, NEW YORK.

NON RE 'lLLABhE BOTTLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 581,597, dated April27', 1897.

Application filed October 16, 1896.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY L. BEEKMAN LEE, of Albany, in the county ofAlbany and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvementin Non-Refillable Bottles, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a bottle and stopper whichrenders the same useless after once being emptied and which is proofagainst refilling by immersion, pumping, or other means; and it consistsin the peculiar construction and arrangement of a stopper to be insertedin the neck of the bottle and in its combination with the bottle, whoseneck is specially adapted to receive said stopper, as hereinafter fullydescribed.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the stopper shown detached from thebottle and partly in section. Fig. 2 is a similar view of the bottle,whose upper part is also shown in section. Fig. 3 is a dotailsectioualView of the air-valve; Fig. 3, a transverse section on line a a of Fig.3; Fig. 3, a view similar to Fig. 3 except that the parts are in theposition occupied when the valve and bottle are inverted, as in pouringout the contents. Fig. 4 is a sectional view showing a modification ofthe stopper, and Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the upper end of thebottle-neck coinpletcl y closed.

In the drawings, N represents the neck of a bottle which at the lowerportion of its throat has an inwardly-projecting flange f, and near itsmouth a short distance from the top is enlarged to form a flange orshoulder f, above which fits an external cork stopper f Fig. 5. Betweenthese two flanges f and f the stopper or plug carrying valves, &c.,isseated and retained. This stopper or plug is shown in Fig. 1, and itslower end rests upon the flange f, with a soft-rubber washer f betweenthem to make a tight joint. The stopper or plug consists of acylindrical body part or sleeve S, carrying within it the valves andsafety devices, and this plug fits snugly in the throat of the neck ofthe bottle, and when once seated therein is to be permanently retained,so that it cannot be removed except by breaking the bottle. This plug orstopper maybe made of glass, metal, or any other desired material, andin its outer periphery are formed on opposite sides the two locking-Serial No. 609,083. (No model.)

notches E E, and in a corresponding position on the inner walls of theneck of the bottle are permanently and securely seated in the glass twodownwardly projecting springpawls P, which, when the stopper is forcedinto place in the neck of the bottle, yield and then drop into thenotches in the neck, so that it cannot be removed. The neck of thebottle is chambered a little below the springpawls to give them room toyield or spread outwardly when inserting the stopper.

Instead of using the spring-pawls to lock the stopper I may dispensewith them and fill the cavities in the exterior of the stopper andinterior of the bottle-neck with any strong and quick-setting cement,which will rigidly lock the parts together equally as well.

The stopper-sleeve S has its lower end closed by an end 8, through whichrises a collapsible soft-rubber valve A, constructed as a flexible tubewhose lower end is open and connected to a round seat and whose upperend and body portion are normally flattened and are preferably curledover to insure automatic closing. This valve allows the fluid contentsof the bottle to pass upwardly and out through its collapsed and curledend, which opens automatically from the pressure of the liquid when thebottle is inverted and which closes automatically or of its own accordwhen the bottle is erect on its own base, forming when in this positionan effective check-valve that prevents the passage of liquid through itin the opposite direction.

XVithin the stopper-sleeve and just above the collapsible valve arethree (more or less) partitioirplates p 23 19 These are provided withflanged openings 0 c 0 through them that give passage to the liquid asit passes out from the collapsible valve. The openings in thesepartitions are staggered or set so that they do not coincide or registerwith each other as to alinement, and, if desired, may be covered withwire-netting, and the partitions are set inelinedly and at analternatelyreversed angle with the openings at the higher side of thepartition, to cause the liquid to drain well outwardly. The purpose ofthese partitions is to prevent the insertion of any small instrument bywhich the collapsible valve might be manipulated or tampered with in theeffort to refill the bottle.

It is necessary, in order that the liquid should flow out of the bottlethrough the collapsible valve, that a corresponding quantity of airshould. be introduced into the bottle, for otherwise the partial vacuumand the resistance that the collapsible valve affords to the liquidwould prevent the latter from passing. To provide for this, I arrange anairtube and air-valve in the stopper. D is the upper part of thisair-tube, which is housed within the stopper-shell S and passed throughthe partitions p p p and the bottom end .9 of the stopper, which alsoforms a partition in the neck of the bottle, and D is the lower part ofthis air-tube. This lower part descends to the bottom of the bottle andconnects with the upper part below the neck of the bottle through theair-valve B, whose function is to admit air to the bottom of the bottlewhen the latter is inverted and to resist the introduction of air underpressure when the bottle is upright. The construction of the air-valveis best seen in Figs. 3, 3, and 3 The cylinder B is rigidly attached tothe ends of the tubes D and D, both of which protrude a certain distanceinto said cylinder, the end of D protruding the farthest and terminatingin a toothed edge. A bottleshaped valve is arranged within the casing Band slides upon the protruding ends of the tubes D and D. The largerchamber 1) of the valve surrounds the end of pipe D and the smallerchamber 5 closes over the end of the pipe D, the two chambers of thisvalve being separated by a partition b WVhen the bottle is upright or onits own base, the valve occupies the position shown in Fig. 3, with thesmall chamber Z) fitting over and closing 4 the end D of the pipe, sothat if any liquid should be introduced into the pipe D it cannot passto the pipe D; but when the bottle is inverted the valve assumes theposition shown in Fig. 3 in which the chamber 1) passes off the pipe D,and the air then rising in pipe D passes between its notched edges andthe partition Z1 and down thelarge chamber b into the outer case B andthence through the uncovered end of pipe D to the elevated bottom of thebottle to supply an amount of air equal to the amount of liquid pouredout.

Instead of having the pipe D extend to the bottom of the bottle it maystop just below the valve l3, and this valve may, if desired, be placedwithin the stopper-sleeve S, as shown in Fig. 4.

Instead of the closing-cork f any other well-known stopper or cap may beused.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. A bottle having permanentlyfixed in its neck a stopper-sleeve with apartition 8 at the bottom an outwardly-opening valve constructed as aflexible and collapsed tube rising from said partition and havingarranged in the sleeve'above the valve inclined partitions withalternated openings, and an airinlet tube passing through all of saidpartitions and beside the tube-valve substantially as shown anddescribed.

2. A non-refillable bottle having an elongated stopper or plug madeseparate from the bottle with notches E and fitting the interior of theneck and having partition 8 at its lower end an outwardly-opening valveconstructed as a collapsible tube and arranged in said partition, anair-inlet and pawls or detents in the bottle-neck for permanentlylocking said plug .or stopper in the neck of the bottle substantially asand for the purpose described.

3. The bottle-neck stopper having an outwardly-openin g collapsibletube-valve A, and partition-plates 19 p 19 above it with openings out ofalinement and air-inlet pipe D extending through said partition-platesand beside the tube-Valve substantially as and for the purposedescribed.

HARRY L. BEEKMAN LEE.

Witnesses:

OHAs. L. YALE, F. H. LIVINGSTON.

